Lead Patient Access Specialist

Hospital for Special Surgery; New York (NY); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City seeks a Regular Full-time Patient Access Lead to manage escalated insurance and financial clearance issues, and to provide advanced financial counseling to patients and families. You will ensure data accuracy in Epic and support multiple service areas in a fast-paced environment.

The role requires strong communication, customer service orientation, and experience in admissions or outpatient patient access settings.

Qualifications

• Associate's degree required; Bachelor's degree preferred.
• Proven experience in admitting or outpatient patient access settings.
• Strong communication and customer service orientation.

Responsibilities

• Manage escalated insurance and financial clearance issues, including denied claims and complex benefit coordination.
• Provide advanced financial counseling to patients and families, including cost estimates, payment plan arrangements, and financial assistance guidance.
• Ensure accuracy and completeness of patient demographic, clinical, and financial data in Epic and related systems.
• Serve as a lead resource for Patient Access Specialist I and II staff, providing mentorship, training, and guidance on complex cases.
• Act as a liaison between patient access, clinical departments, and external payers to resolve barriers to care and optimize patient flow.
• Provide cross-coverage for multiple service areas and serve as a subject matter expert for high-volume or specialized units.
• Transcribing orders as needed.

Skills

Verbal and written communication

Customer service orientation

Phone skills / triage

Front-end revenue cycle knowledge

Ability to adapt to patient flow

Communication across staff levels

Education

Associate's degree; Bachelor's preferred

Tools

MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook)

Epic systems

Data entry tools

Job description

Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City seeks a Regular Full-time Patient Access Lead to manage escalated insurance and financial clearance issues, and to provide advanced financial counseling to patients and families. You will ensure data accuracy in Epic and support multiple service areas in a fast-paced environment.

The role requires strong communication, customer service orientation, and experience in admissions or outpatient patient access settings.